


The Cycle of Epoch

by Heroic_Euphoria



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Human/Vampire Relationship, Reincarnation, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-09-03 11:41:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20265169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heroic_Euphoria/pseuds/Heroic_Euphoria
Summary: After burning at the stake, Lisa is soon reincarnated. Vlad locates her new life and watches over her. As one life bleeds into the next, he tries to rebuild an era he once had with her soul. Despite similar looks and attributes, it doesn't always mean she's interested in or cares about him in any particular lifetime. Yet, at some point, their pasts break through to each other, and Vlad must accept many lives across one man's epoch are different from one another.





	1. Wisdom of the Erudite

_ When an epoch spanning several decades ends, it’s always a surreal experience.  _

_ When it ends abruptly and without justice, the world may or may not tear asunder.  _

_ When a soul is burnt and tattered, it may or may not come back.  _

_ When the wind blows and ashes fade, take the wisdom of the erudite;  _

_ No one ever really dies.  _

The poetry book shut and slammed against the desk. The glass on the far side of the wood trembled, the chalice of blood splashing a drop of crimson on a blank piece of parchment. The clock on the far wall ticked close to midnight and the fireplace crackled in the static. It was solemn, desolate, and brooding with grief. 

The poem, written by an unknown author in the 11th century, spoke too loud and too precise. Vlad wasn’t one to believe in prophecy or fortune tellers. If he couldn’t articulate it into an experiment or onto parchment with clear results, it wasn’t worth the time. Yet, for some reason or another, after a few centuries stowed away on a dusty bookshelf, he remembered this particular poem. It spoke to him on the deepest plain of his unbeating heart. 

But that was what poetry was supposed to do. 

Vague words penned down spoke to a variety of ailments experienced during life. Anyone could see anything they pleased within a stanza, that was the entire premise of a poem. Yet, this poem felt as if it were written for him and about him. Even if it was, it was cruel and false. 

People did die. They died all the time in every sort of monstrous way. He knew better than most, being the victim and the doer of violent death alike.  _ Whoever wrote this was a hopeful fool,  _ Vlad thought. 

Then why did he return to it? Why did his mind remember a five line poem from over two hundred years prior? He took a swash of blood into his mouth, a shaking hand wrapped around the chalice. He didn’t know why he pulled that book out. He didn’t care. 

The door opened. Vlad’s eyes narrowed. Those around him knew better than to enter his study unannounced and without permission. Footsteps echoed the room, a young man coming to stand in front of his desk. 

_ He looks so much like you, Lisa, _ he brooded. 

“Yes, son?” he sighed, unamused at the intrusion. Staring at his son, Adrian, only reminded him of what he lost, and he wasn’t in the mood to recount his tragedies. 

“I want to find her, Father,” Adrian said, his fists clenched. 

Vlad raised his brow, one fist on his cheek. “Find who?”

“Mother.”

“Feel free, Adrian, go sorting through the ashes,” he chided bitterly. He leaned back in his chair and took another swash of blood. 

“That’s not what I meant,” Adrian retorted, clearly trying to hide the hurt in his voice. 

“Say what you mean, then!” Vlad barked at him. “Did you come here to waste my time?”

“No. The ancient occult texts speaks of reincarnation for scorned souls. If we wait, and we search, we will find her again.”

“What kind of preposterous notion is that? You are full of wishful thinking, son. Let it go in favor of actions with seeable results.”

“There is an 11th century poet that wrote poetry modeled after the texts. One poem in particular hints at the texts, a hidden message for the erudite that know where to look,” Adrian continued, putting out his hands to emphasize his explanation. 

Vlad huffed and shook his head. He wanted nothing more than to end this conversation and get Adrian out of his sight. He was young and naive, something Vlad couldn’t teach him  _ not _ to be. Only age would set him straight, and those days where he would finally let go of whimsy couldn’t come soon enough. He picked up the weathered poetry book he had just finished reading and tossed it at his son’s chest. Adrian teetered back, his arms wrapping around the hardback. 

“There’s the book with that dastardly poem in it. Take it and leave,” he said, his voice a weak command. He was tired and agitated. All he wished was to be able to take his chalice of blood in peace. 

“So you do know of the occult texts?” Adrian said, his tone hopeful. Vlad shrugged, chalice in hand. 

“I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m warning you for the last time: take it and leave.”

“Let me prove it you, Father,” he begged. “I can find her renewed spirit with the tools we have here.”

“Enough!” Vlad bellowed, finally losing his patience. He stood, the chalice falling out of his hand and onto the floor. Blood stained the carpeting. He hovered over Adrian, but his son didn’t seem intimidated. “Enough with the pestering,” he threatened, venom on his tongue. “You are not a little boy and I am not a merciful man. Get out before I tear you up the middle and bite out your heart.”

Adrian stiffened, promptly turning around and taking his leave. Vlad collapsed into the chair and glanced to the bloodstains on the carpet. He stared at the portrait of his dead wife. He didn’t understand how their son had become enraptured with such foolish ideas. Neither he nor Lisa taught him to indulge in fantasy. 

“Damn fool,” he mused aloud, allowing the fireplace crackle to overtake his thoughts. 

**~*~**

Adrian Fahrenheit Ţepeş was both a fool and a child in a grown body. Vlad couldn’t help but rub his palm into his face when he crept up on his son to see exactly  _ what _ he was up to. He had to admit, he was curious to see what tomfoolery he tried to tamper with, and when it failed, Vlad couldn’t help but get pricked with a small dose of  _ schadenfreude.  _

He had told him it was preposterous notion. 

Vlad could’ve stopped Adrian’s “experimentations” thrice over, but he refrained. It was too much trouble to bother with, Vlad electing to spend his time tending to other things. Perhaps he was more merciful than he proclaimed. 

One evening, Vlad crept up on his son’s work once again. It wasn’t difficult to spy on his activities, Adrian wasn’t as old or powerful as him. Vlad always slipped through unnoticed, watching his movements carefully. At some point, his patience with the foolishness would snap, but until then, he would indulge in the theatrics. 

Adrian stood in front of an ancient mirror. He scribbled runes across the far-side repeatedly. Each time he’d scribble a different order, and the runes would fade, signalling a failure to pinpoint a location. Adrian clenched his free hand into a fist and tried _again_ and _again_ and _again._ Vlad grew frustrated and impatient simply watching it. 

Finally, the runes glowed red, signalling a success. Adrian smiled to himself and Vlad rolled his eyes. A pouch found its way into Adrian’s hands and was opened. He tugged out a thick lock of blonde hair tied in purple lace. Vlad’s eyes widened. 

It had been so many years ago. An experimentation, one he couldn’t even remember the meaning of, caused Lisa to snip a few centimeters of her hair from the ends. She had wrapped it in lace, using strands to conduct her studies. Was it the study of DNA? No, perhaps, hair follicle development? Vlad racked his brain, but all he could see in his mind was the act of her taking the scissors to her hair and snipping it away. 

When he returned to the present, he was ready to pounce, to finally stop Adrian from pursuing nonsense any further. However, before he did, he paused. Adrian took a strand of old, blonde hair and threw it into the mirror. The image shifted. A small child, a newborn likely no more than a few hours old, filled the frame. Voices came through the image, the child squirming in the bassinet. He listened:

“She’s beautiful.”

“Look at her, our little Lisa.”

Vlad blinked, anger filling the whites of his eyes crimson. He pounced from his hiding spot, landing right behind his unaware son standing in front of the mirror. 

“You!” he bellowed. Adrian startled and turned around, tears on his cheeks. “You explain this tomfoolery!”

Adrian bit his lip. “I t-told you, Father, we could search for her renewed spirit with the ancient texts. I performed the spellwork, her soul has returned to begin again.”

“This isn’t possible!” he shouted, part of his mind  _ trying _ to believe. Any rationale besides that  _ was _ the answer. This was nonsense and wishful thinking in the heart of a little boy who wanted his dead mother again. 

“I performed the spells as instructed, even using hair of the departed!” Adrian insisted. “She has reincarnated, I’m sure of it! Why else would the mirror show us a child named  _ Lisa _ when met with a strand of Mother’s hair?!”

“You’ve simply found a child who shares her name,” Vlad retorted with a snarl. “Stop the nonsense.  _ Now. _ I told you I’m not a merciful man.”

Adrian went to respond, but halted when more voices came through the mirror. Father and son both turned their heads to watch the image of the newborn and hear the sounds coming through. 

“Ugh, a girl?! Useless, our family needs an heir.”

“Lisa can be whatever she wants. She  _ is _ the heir. She could be a nun or a doctor or--”

“A doctor?! Are you an idiot? Women aren’t doctors.”

“She can be a doctor if she wishes. Who knows?! Damn you, she’s only two hours old, and you’ve already shunned her to a life of predictability.”

Adrian and Vlad stared at each other with wide, unbelieving eyes. Vlad wasn’t sure what to think. It could’ve been all coincidence, but it didn’t feel so. Yet, what he wanted and what was were two different things. The child in the image  _ did _ look like it could’ve been a newborn version of his wife: light blonde hair and bright blue-grey eyes. 

Babies all looked the same at birth, didn’t they?

This was tomfoolery. Wasn’t it?

Vlad pointed to Adrian with a commanding finger. “Bring me  _ every _ book and _ every  _ tool you used to conjure this image.  _ Now.” _


	2. For Now

The books spread across tables and parchment little the floor. Tools were tossed here and there, as when their usage was spent, they were thrown behind the shoulder. Adrian had scrambled to gather all the supplies he used to conjure the image, and when he did, Vlad promptly kicked him out. He would get to the bottom of this alone. 

He followed the texts and their methodical instructions step by step. This task was taxing and not for the faint of heart, but for the long-lived Vlad, it was mundane. However, what he might _gain_ from the monotony was inking every rational corner of his mind. 

This was wishful thinking. Nonsense. Tomfoolery. 

“When you see it, Father, you  _ will _ believe,” Adrian insisted as Vlad slammed the door in his face. 

If this really was nonsense, why was Vlad indulging in it? It was a childish fantasy. Yet, part of him ached to see for himself. A man of  _ I believe it when I see it _ couldn’t simply leave what he saw and heard alone. He needed to work it out through and through without the pestering. 

Vlad etched the runes into the mirror’s edge. He accomplished the right combination on the first try, the runes glowing red. He held the pouch in his hands a moment before tugging it open with a sigh. He took a small sliver of Lisa’s hair and tossed it into the mirror. The image shifted. 

There rested a newborn daughter in the bassinet. 

Vlad clutched the frame of the mirror. He wanted to reject it, yet he wanted to believe in the same instance. He had read through every book, followed every text, deciphered every occult word. It all spoke of rebirth and renewal, of one life bleeding into the next. He had followed the  _ wisdom of the erudite _ , and this was where it lead. 

He was astonished. He didn’t know what knowledge he held in his quarters anymore. He had just hoarded books and texts for years, never getting around to reading everything. Yet, Adrian had dug it out of whatever far, dusty bookshelves held them. 

Perhaps he owed his son an apology. 

**~*~**

“Son.”

Adrian turned around from his spot at a bookshelf in the library. Vlad stood a few paces from him, his arms rigid at his side. There was silence between them for a moment. 

“Yes, Father?” 

“Accept my apologies. I don’t dole them out often.”

“You came to the same conclusion I did,” Adrian said, his eyes wide and hopeful. Vlad nodded. 

“Yes.”

“We’ve found her.”

“Yes,” Vlad sighed. He gave his son a stern eye. “It would do you best not to jump to absolutes.”

Adrian furrowed his brow. He shut the book in his hands and shelved it, turning to give his father his full attention. “What do you mean?” he asked. 

“We found her _ reincarnate. _ They are not the same person,” Vlad stressed. “Same name, same looks, different lives. I understand the texts said scorned persons can begin anew with the same features, to fill in the gaps of a life they were meant to finish in a different way. That doesn’t mean she remembers anything about us.”

“But we can get her  _ to _ remember,” Adrian argued. “You read the same books I did. Scorned souls need to understand why they were scorned in the first place. There are lessons she needs to learn, or else she’ll keep coming back as the same incarnation over and over again.”

“We can’t teach her those lessons. Soul ascension can only be fulfilled by the soul itself.”

“Perhaps you were right, Father,” Adrian sighed, his voice bitter, “I  _ am _ just a child. This is nonsense, wishful thinking. There’s no point to seeking her out. She’s not the same. She’s not my mother.”

“I will watch over her,” Vlad said, “you will stay out of it unless I call for you.”

Adrian’s eyes widened, his jaw slack. He nodded. “Of course.”

“Good. Preoccupy yourself with other things.”

“One more question, Father.”

Vlad sighed and gazed down to his son. “Yes?”

“Will this keep you from tearing the Earth asunder?” Adrian asked. The look on his face signaled part of him already regretted posing the question, but it was too late to step back on words already said. Vlad stared at him with a pensive expression. 

“Yes.  _ For now.” _

“Why?” 

“Because she’s in it.” 

** ~*~**

_ Wallachia c. 1476 _

Vlad stood at the mirror, watching a mother feed her newborn daughter. This was a child, not a woman, not his wife. Yet, one day, she would grow older and into her shoes as a young lady in search of herself. Vlad wasn’t sure what that entailed, or whether or not she would follow the same  _ exact _ path of her previous life. The texts were vague in that regard, and it frustrated him. Seeing this process to fruition would take years, but Vlad had centuries. In the meantime, he would watch and wait to see where her life lead. Tearing the Earth asunder and everything in it as vengeance to men that  _ still walked the Earth _ as they did when they killed his wife would’ve been faster, perhaps easier. Despite that, he would hold off. For now. 

Because she was in it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, welcome to my fanfiction!
> 
> I got this idea from the ending scene to the movie "Dracula Untold". If you've seen that movie, or look up the ending on Youtube, you'll see what I mean. ;)
> 
> This whole concept is one of the more tougher plots to write, though I'm enjoying the challenge so far. This idea is a lot more intricate than some of the other things I've written. I hope it's interesting! 
> 
> Also, I have many other Castlevania fanfictions on my AO3 account, if you're interested! I've received questions about whether or not I have other fics on stories before, so I thought I'd just throw that out there! :)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Chance Encounters

_ Wallachia c. 1486 _

  
  


It had been ten years since finding Lisa’s renewed spirit in the world. Vlad watched her every day, and in that time, had seen her grow from baby to toddler to young child. It was a surreal experience, and he spent the rest of his time studying and tinkering as he usually did. Adrian elected to travel, and Vlad had no criticisms of it. It would do him good to see more of the world. 

Vlad had located where she lived, which was a small house at the edges of Târgoviște. Despite that, there wasn’t much he could do besides watch. She wasn’t yet very old or sure of herself. Even so, he was always watching, always waiting for her to return to him, though she didn’t know who he was. 

One day, Vlad conjured an image of her at dusk. She was just ten years old, but already the bookworm she was in her past life. She carried a few books in her petite arms as she made her way down a desolate residential road. She hummed to herself, her hair tied back in a lace bow. Two boys her age walked up to her. 

“What’ve you got, Lisa?” one of them asked. 

“Just books,” she said. She hunched and tried to step around them, but they blocked her. A boy snatched a book from her hand. 

_ “The Human Body?” _ he echoed, reading the title. “Girls are too stupid to read this sort of stuff.”

“No, they’re not!” Lisa argued. “I’ve already read three books just like that!”

“Yeah, more like _ looked at the pictures,” _ the other boy taunted. They laughed together. 

“No! I want to be a doctor, I read every word!” 

The boy snatched the other book from her hand. “Yeah, well, read this,” he spit, throwing the books on the ground. He stomped on them and destroyed them. Lisa screamed, tears on her cheeks. 

“No, please! I saved up my chore money for those!” she cried. The boy pushed on her shoulder. 

“Girls aren’t doctors,” he said. 

Vlad narrowed his brows. He had elected to stay out of her life for her younger years, just watching until she got older. It wasn’t a creed he swore by, but a personal choice to keep her path her own without too much of his meddling. Yet, seeing her insulted brought back memories of their past life together, the passion they shared for medicine and science. It also brought back memories of her persecution. It was clear that same passion that once cost her her life carried on into her new journey. He didn’t want it destroyed and wasted because of two arrogant and ignorant little boys. So, after watching them bully her, he had had enough. He stepped through the mirror. 

He landed a few paces away from the children. He walked forward and grabbed Lisa’s arm, tugging her behind his towering form. He held her wrist gently as she yelped in surprise. His crimson stare bore into the boys’ skulls. 

“Begone now,” he chided, “leave her alone.”

The boys gawked at him. Vlad grew impatient. He lifted his upper lip to expose one of his fangs, hoping the sight would scare them off. It worked, and the boys scrambled with yelps of terror. He turned to Lisa, letting go of her wrist. It was a surprise to him how much he towered over her, and he had to remind himself he was looking at a ten year old and not his past wife. He sighed. 

“They won’t bother you anymore,” he said. He picked up a ruined book. “Your books didn’t survive the journey, I’m afraid.”

“What did you do?” Lisa asked, peering up at him. He shrugged. 

“I bore my teeth.”

“That’s funny, mister,” Lisa giggled. “ I guess they aren’t very strong after all, huh?”

Vlad chuckled. “I suppose not.”

“My name is Lisa. I want to be a doctor.” 

“I can tell by your choice of book.”

“Who are you?”

“No one in particular,” Vlad said with a dismissive shrug. “I knew a Lisa once. She was a doctor.”

Lisa’s eyes widened. “Really?!” 

“Yes. She was Lisa of Lupu, the doctor for her whole village,” he explained, a pang of sadness in his heart. He placed a few high dollar coins in her hand. “Go replace your books. Become the doctor you’re meant to be.”

He disappeared, returning to his place in the castle. He watched her perplexed look through the mirror as her eyes fell to the coins in her palm. She gawked at them, her walk shifting to a sprint as she rushed home. 

**~*~**

_ Târgoviște, Wallachia, c. 1493 _

  
  


Meeting Lisa as a young child had been surreal for the aged Vlad. She had felt so close, yet so far, as if a shell that he went to grab that the sea swept away first. He had watched her purchase the local bookshop’s entire section on anatomy with the coin he gave her, and saw her study every volume with vigorous intent. It put a droplet of warmth back into his jagged, frozen heart. 

As a young woman of seventeen, Lisa was more determined than ever. She had befriended the local doctor, convincing him with both her wit and determination that he should apprentice her. When Vlad saw it he couldn’t help but smile. Some things were bound to resurface at each state in the cycle of life. She was still quite young, younger than when he first met her, so he held off approaching her. He continued to watch and wait. 

A plague hit Târgoviște fast and without relent. Lisa, being diligent caregiver she was bound to be, was the first to volunteer providing care for the ill. Vlad was not surprised. Yet, he couldn’t help but worry. 

He watched her walk the market one early evening. She stopped to admire the flowers for sale at one of the vendors. Vlad dressed in simple clothing, a white shirt and black trousers covered with a light black coat. He popped the collar over his neck and hopped through the mirror. 

The market was full of shoppers finishing up before the evening turned into the dead of night. Some vendors packed their things while others lit lanterns. He walked through the street with his hands in his pockets. As people traveled here and there, they passed him by without a second look. Vlad sighed. 

_ Live as man, _ he heard Lisa tell him in his thoughts.  _ Travel as a man. _

He shoved the sentiments aside. 

Lisa was admiring a bunch of white lilies when he came to her. He stopped, admiring her as she admired the petals of each individual flower. She brought them to her nose. It reminded him of the portrait in his study, where in fine dress a beautiful woman held a bunch of flowers in her hand as she posed for the painting. The memory was so strong, he repeated out-loud what he had told her all those years ago, when he and Lisa had looked upon the finished portrait for the first time:

“You’re beautiful.”

The young woman startled and turned around, the lilies still in her hand. Vlad stared at her, his eyes wide. She stared back, peering up at him from a few paces away. They stayed this way for a moment. 

“What?” Lisa finally asked. 

“The flowers,” Vlad said in monotone. Lisa exhaled with a blush. 

“O-Oh…” she stammered, “they sure are.” 

Vlad nodded, acting as if he were there to shop. Lisa studied him head to toe, and he could feel her eyes on him without having to look at her directly. She opened her mouth, then closed it, as if she were trying to articulate something. Vlad raised a gentle brow in her direction, and her blush deepened. 

“Where are you from?” she asked. She put the flowers down with the rest of the purchasable goods. Vlad turned to her. 

“A long way from here,” he said. Lisa frowned and stared into his eyes. Vlad swallowed, a life past lived coming back to him in waves. He hushed the onslaught as she posed another question. 

“Have we met before?”

“I don’t believe so.”

“Well, I’d advise you move along if you don’t live here,” she said, “the plague is running rampant. Protect yourself by seeking sparsely populated lands.”

“Oh?” Vlad said, acting as if he’d first heard the news. “Thank you for telling me. Perhaps you’ve saved my life.”

“I hope. I’m trying to save as many as I can, but I feel hopeless at it some days,” Lisa admitted with a sigh. She shook her head. “I’m not sure why I’m telling you this.”

“I don’t mind it,” he shrugged, his eyes bright. 

“I’m the doctor’s medical assistant. I hope to be a doctor one day myself. Yet, if I can’t handle this...why bother?”

“Some things are beyond your measure. You can’t protect everyone, but you can protect yourself.”

“What?” she asked with furrowed brows. 

Vlad pulled a medical mask from his pocket. He placed it in her hands. “Cover your mouth with this. It’ll help protect you from airborne pathogens.”

Lisa stared at the lightweight mask with awe. She held it up to her mouth, then pulled it away. She stared at him with awe. “T-Thank you!” she said. “I have never seen anything quite like this.”

“It’s from somewhere far away.” 

Lisa placed the mask in her satchel. She grabbed his hand in both of hers and held it. He stiffened at the contact, the first of such to happen to him in decades. Lisa smiled at him with the bright, optimistic expression he knew so well. 

“This will help not only me, but so many others, when I can treat them without getting ill. I have to wonder, why did you give this to me when you could use it to protect yourself?” she said, peering up at him with curiosity. 

He graced her with a very small, subtle smile. “I think I might like you.”

Lisa chuckled, a blush on her cheeks. She let go of his hands. “Such words for a kind traveler in a chance encounter.”

“Perhaps,” he shrugged. 

“I must be going now. I only get a small break each day,” Lisa said with a sigh. “I have to ask: what’s your name?”

“Vlad.”

“Well, Vlad, I’m Lisa. It was nice to meet you.” She turned to walk away. She made it a few paces down the road before he stopped her again by calling out to her. 

“You forgot your flowers.”

Lisa turned around. She shook her head at the bunch of white lilies in his hand. “I didn’t pay for those, sir.”

Vlad shrugged again and held them out to her. “Perhaps someone else did.”

She blushed and took the bunch from his hands. He was rewarded with her thanks, her gratitude, and her soft gaze before she disappeared into the crowd. To her it was a chance encounter with a kind stranger. To him, it was so much more. 

**~*~**

_Wallachia, c. 1494_

  
  


The chance encounter had proved too little too late for the young Lisa. Despite giving her the means to protect herself, the plague was already within her, and only a few days after their encounter, she was debilitated with symptoms. It was quick and sudden, too quick for Vlad as he tried to prepare a tincture to take to her. He knew such tampering would cause a ripple effect of questions and superstitions surrounding him and her, but in the moment, it didn’t matter. He just wanted to save her. He wasn’t fast enough. 

When he looked through the mirror to see her mourning mentor, he threw the glass tincture against the wall out of anger and grief. This was the second time he had wanted to save her, tried to save her, and failed. He mourned her with tears of crimson and bouts of exerted frustration. He wished for her to live _at least_ one peaceful life. Yet, twice now, he couldn’t give it to her. 

That was a year prior. 

It was now 1494, and Vlad took to the mirror once more. The ancient texts said there were one year periods between incarnations. So he waited, bidding time the best he could. He performed the initiation spellwork once again, taking another strand of his beloved’s hair and tossing it through the mirror. 

If she wasn’t there, he was fully prepared to tear the Earth asunder. 

He didn’t have to. 

In the mirror there was an image of a newborn daughter. Two loving parents cooed at her, whispering to her loving affections and wishes. They proclaimed with pride her name was Lisa. Vlad sighed. There was something these lives were supposed to teach her. He couldn’t figure out what, despite the anchor of a millennia’s worth of knowledge at his feet. The door opened. Vlad turned around and was met with his son. 

“Father,” Adrian said, “I’ve returned from my travels.”

Vlad nodded. “Have you gained anything from your time away?”

“Quite a lot. I feel I’ve matured a great deal.”

“Good. That’s something to be proud of.”

Adrian approached the mirror. He caught sight of the image within. He furrowed his brow. “How...is she?” he asked cautiously. 

“She lived to be seventeen before she fell to the plague,” Vlad said. Adrian blinked, hurt in his eyes. 

“I...see…” he mumbled. 

“She has already restarted anew. That’s her in the mirror.”

Adrian studied the image. “Perhaps that lifetime was meant to teach her something? Perhaps what it feels like to be a patient to an illness instead of the one treating it. There’s bound to be wisdom for a soul in that.”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Vlad shrugged. 

“So the cycle begins again.”

“So it seems.”


	4. Patrons of True Science

_ Târgoviște, Wallachia, 1514 _

  
  


Watching Lisa live life for the third time was a peaceful tragedy. It was a quiet journey, yet watching her poor upbringing was harsh on Vlad’s willpower. He wanted to give her the world on a platter, but he couldn’t meddle too much in her youth. So, the years passed, and he watched. He slipped coins in her path more than a few times during her childhood and teenage years, allowing her to buy the anatomy books she longed for every time she walked in the bookshop. She considered herself lucky. 

Lisa was now a young woman living in the city center of Târgoviște. Vlad was surprised she reincarnated in the same city as her previous life, and as to why was anyone’s best guess. A slice of the population had been carved away due to plague, including Lisa’s past self. Now the city was fresh with new settlers and those looking to rebuild their lives after the disease swept through. That was a few decades prior. 

She was twenty years old and vying for any doctor’s attention she could manage to step up to. There were more of them in the city than there had been in previous years, giving Lisa more opportunities to apprentice. Yet, despite that, no one would give her a second look. She had been laughed out of at least one office and politely declined in two more. Vlad dismayed at the scene. Despite that, took an opportunity to subtly slip into her life. 

It was a rainy late afternoon in the city center. Lisa had taken work as the bookshop’s assistant in order to keep food on the table, and sat in the window most days waiting for visitors. Her nose was usually stuck in a book when no one was around. Vlad dressed in simple clothing, his black coat collar brought up to cover his neck. He opened the door to the shop as a bell rang throughout. Lisa shut her book and glanced up at him. 

“Welcome,” she said, “is there anything I can help you find?”

“No,” Vlad shook his head, “I’m just browsing.”

“Of course. Let me know if you need anything.”

He walked over to the science section and scanned the shelves. Much of what was proclaimed as “science” was simply pseudoscience practiced by individuals who had not yet discovered the truth. He could tell by the titles of many of the hardbacks, but a few seemed to be accurate. He pulled a book on human anatomy and flipped it open, waiting for the moment she would notice. Lisa couldn’t help but enthuse when she came by someone else who shared her passion. It didn’t matter how old she was or how many lifetimes passed. Vlad knew this of her, and knew it well. 

“That’s a good one,” Lisa said, adjusting on her stool, “it’s one of the few not full of charlatanry.”

“Oh?” Vlad said, raising his brow. “What of these others? Are they frauds?”

“I would say so. But, I never said that,” she chuckled, “I’m supposed to be trying to get these sold.”

Vlad’s lip curved into what was almost a smile. He shut the book and placed it back on the shelf. “I’m curious to know why you think these are frauds. They’re in the  _ science _ section, after all.”

Lisa shrugged and gestured to the shelf of books he was standing in front of. “The Church writing books claiming all ailments are from Satan and them proclaiming them as science is charlatanry.”

“So you must believe papal science isn’t true science.”

“Of course not. There  _ may _ be some snippets of truth here and there, but it’s mostly theology. I don’t mind those that hold faith, but those books need to be labeled as theology and not science.”

“I can’t help but agree.”

Lisa’s eyes widened. “Really? I’ve never met a like minded person in that regard.”

“We’re few and far between,” Vlad said with a lighthearted shrug.

“You must be a patron of true science. If so, you know the Church is ill news for us.”

Vlad stiffened. He shoved his hands in his pockets and hid his solemn expression behind the collar of his coat. “The Church burns patrons of true science. Women especially so.  _ Witches, _ they say.”

“Unfortunately,” Lisa sighed with a frown. “The stories of witch burnings are one too many. The story of Lisa of Lupu always struck a chord with me. Perhaps it’s because we share a name.”

“Story? What story?” Vlad’s eyes widened. It  _ almost _ felt as though his heart beat once or twice in his dusty ribcage. He hadn’t been paying attention to what human stories may be floating about, rather spending his time watching over Lisa’s renewed spirit as it journeyed. This was the first he’d heard of any particular story connected to his wife.

“Lisa of Lupu was burned as a witch in the 1470s. The Church found out she was curing ailments none ever had. She could identify and treat most of the troubles people came to her with. She worked miracles, or so the villagers said. The Church didn’t see it that way. They saw it as witchcraft.”

Vlad clenched his fists. He licked his lip, trying to tame the hurt swelling in his chest. No matter how many years passed, no matter how many lifetimes Lisa’s soul lived, it would never rid him of that pain. 

“When a man does science, it’s true science,” Lisa said as she crossed her arms. “When a woman does it, it’s witchcraft.”

“You wish to pursue something. What is it?” Vlad asked, glancing over at her. She flushed. 

“I wanted to be a doctor,” she admitted. 

_ “Wanted?” _ he said, raising his brow. “What changed your mind?”

“Reality. Realising my dreams are whimsy. Women die before they have the pleasure of pursuing true science,” Lisa sighed. She tapped on the book in her lap. “I wonder how Lisa of Lupu did it for so long. There’s part of the story that says she found a castle where a handsome, hermited man lived. That man taught her all she knew. It seems like legend to me.”

“It’s not difficult to find castles in these parts. They’re everywhere,” Vlad shrugged. 

“But those with handsome, hermited men?” Lisa questioned with a raised brow of her own. “It sounds like someone wanted to sell a romance novel or two.”

Vlad chuckled. He took a step toward her. “Life may surprise you, Lisa.”

“How did you--My, you seem to be a sharp man,” Lisa blushed, turning her head to the window. She brought her hand to her cheek. 

“You seem to be a sharp young woman.”

“I’ve never held such interesting conversations with a customer before,” she said with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Intriguing conversations seem a rarity these days,” Vlad responded. Her stared into her eyes, eyes that hadn’t lost their luster over the passage of time. They were an ocean he easily sunk into, lives lived within them she wasn’t even aware of.

“I agree.”

“Could I interest you in furthering this conversation in a walk around the city center this evening?”

Lisa’s cheeks reddened. She tugged at her dress and moved her neck to flip back strands of hair that had fallen into her eyes. She wouldn’t look at him, choosing to stare at the pile of books at her feet. She blinked, a meek shrug on her shoulders. 

“I close shop in about ten minutes,” she said softly. 

“Is that a yes?” Vlad asked, his voice monotone, but his heart hopeful. He was a gentleman through and through, but he knew nothing of how humans courted each other. He never much cared. He only knew what the Lisa of the past loved, what got her flustered or interested, and used that to go by. Despite his monotone voice and mysterious, private demeanor, he was able to break through to her. 

“On one condition.”

“Oh?”

“I must know your name.”

He gave her a small, subtle smile. “Vlad.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Vlad,” she said. She hopped off her stool and held out her hand to him, expecting a handshake. Vlad cradled her hand in his and brought it to his lips. He placed a chivalrous kiss on the top. He exhaled at the touch. It had been the first time his lips had touched her skin in decades. The feeling of something so new, yet so familiar swelled in his chest. Lisa blushed again. 

“S-Such a gentleman!” she exclaimed. “How do I know you’re not an agent of the Church tricking me into admitting my heresy?”

Vlad took his lips off her hand and picked his head up to look at her. His gaze trailed down into hers, her body stiffening. “Do I look like the priestly type?” he chuckled. 

“No, especially not with those crimson eyes,” she chuckled with him. Her stance relaxed a little. “How did that happen?”

“I was born with it.”

“Perhaps it’s something passed through your lineage, then. Maybe...I don’t know...something that skips people? I’ve heard that idea tossed around before. But how is it possible?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said with a smile. 

“Patrons of true science aren’t supposed to guess,” she chided playfully. “They’re supposed to find out.”

Vlad laughed, the first true laugh he had in decades. “Of course.”

Lisa closed up the shop as they stood on the street. She turned and walked away with the key in her pocket, Vlad right beside her. They continued to chat as they ventured further into the city center, the early onset of evening igniting the bustle of taverns and inns. Her presence was surreal to him. His stature was still blank and mysterious, but she didn’t seem to mind it. Having her enthuse about her interests as he nodded and added small remarks here and there was reliving a past long stolen from him. It was as if he was on the slow and steady path to living once again. 


	5. In Another Life

_ Târgoviște, Wallachia, 1515 _

  
  


Six months had passed of a gentle courtship. Vlad met Lisa at the bookshop on her days of work. She closed shop, and they took a walk around the city center together. Some days were different, however, when they decided to stop at a small cafe or inn for a drink. Lisa always enthused about her passions, her ideas, and what she thought the world meant. Vlad gave his own inputs, yet sometimes he knew some of her ideas were scientifically false. He didn’t want to tell her, because he knew what she would do when he did. She would ask him to prove it. Then, he would have to tell who he was, what he was, and where he lived. 

Of course, her past self had waltzed her way into his castle without any hesitation. That courage and spirit was still within her, yet, Vlad couldn’t be sure when to tell her the truth. There was a time and a place for everything, he knew well enough. Deciding it correctly was another manner entirely. What humans called  _ courting _ wasn’t exactly the easiest thing he’d ever done. 

Vlad suspected Lisa had her questions. A woman of critical thought, she  _ had _ to be catching on to him. He only sought her out at dusk and evening. He sipped wine when they stopped for a drink and never ate more than a few bites of food. He always paid for her meals, much to her protest, with money he conjured up on a whim. Lisa didn’t know that, of course, but he never gave her a straight answer when she asked what his occupation was. His reply was always,  _ I’m a scientist and an intellectual. A passionate polyglot also.  _

The answer always intrigued her, and set them off on a branching conversation about those topics, but it wouldn’t be long before she’d ask again. As their encounters increased, there was a quiet nag at the back of his mind, a nag he didn’t even want to address. 

They only seemed like close friends. 

He was ever the gentleman around her, yet they hadn’t elevated their relationship beyond talking and meeting for dinner. She’d blush at his subtle compliments and smiled at him when she wondered out loud. Yet, there was a spark missing, a spark that had been there the second they met for the first time in her past life. Now it just wouldn’t ignite. 

One evening on a walk around the city, Vlad decided to take a leap of faith. He didn’t place his stock in hope often, but his deductions and predictions could only get him so far. If wanted any chance of rekindling the life he had long ago, he had to try to progress their relationship. 

They sat on a bench in the city center. People passed on their way to nowhere and anywhere all the same. Vlad wrapped his arm around Lisa’s shoulders. She sighed and leaned her head on his. There was quiet between them. 

“Lisa,” Vlad finally said, “I have a proposition for you.” 

She raised her brow but didn’t move her head. “Hm? What is it?”

“How would you like to come see my home?”

“W-What?” She took her head off his shoulder. “Really?”

“Yes. I mean what I say.”

“What do you mean, though? You want me to spend the night?”

Vlad shrugged, a small glint in his eye. “If you should choose to, I would have no problem with it.”

Lisa smiled, but it quickly shifted to a frown. She turned away. “I--can’t. I’m sorry, Vlad.”

“Why not?” Vlad asked, a frown of his own on his lips. “You seemed interested enough.”

“I live with my parents. There are very strict, if they found out I was courting a man--”

“You have not told them?” Vlad interrupted. Lisa shook her head, panic in her eyes. 

“N-No…” she said, a tear on her cheek. “They want to arrange a marriage for me.”

“What?!” Vlad blurted. If he were being honest, once they started seeing each other on a regular basis, he didn’t look through the mirror as often as he used to. He made sure she made it home, but beyond that, didn’t peek on her life. He wanted to respect her privacy now that they were seeing each other. It wouldn’t do for him to say something out of line, revealing he knew more than he should. He already knew far more than she would ever realize. 

“It would bring our family money,” Lisa sighed. “They would use my looks--”

“No, Lisa. Absolutely not,” Vlad said, his voice stern. “You are more than your looks.”

“I’m glad you think so, Vlad.”

“When were you planning on telling me?”

Lisa swallowed and wiped her tears. “Today. I’ve been trying to get them to stop the search and the pleas to nobility for months. I thought if I worked hard enough at the shop, the money would suffice and they would leave me alone. I didn’t want to lose you. That’s why I never mentioned it. But, it seems they are near making an arrangement.”

Vlad swallowed. This was a predicament he never expected to encounter. In her past life, Lisa’s parents had already passed away by the time they met. It was one of the reasons she was so free-spirited, she was a lone wanderer in a world with no one looking for her. Vlad had to keep reminding himself each iteration was different. With that brought new challenges. Lisa felt like the same exact woman he always knew. Yet, she was not in the same exact situation. 

“Lisa, you don’t have to live that way,” he said. “You can come with me.”

“Vlad, no,” Lisa shook her head, “what if you get hurt? What if the nobility finds you and kills you?”

“They can’t kill me, my dear,” he scoffed, “but they are free to try.”

“You are quite arrogant. Don’t get too full of yourself, that’s when people get themselves hurt.”

“No human can hurt me.”

Lisa sighed. “I can’t go home with you, Vlad. I wish I could.” 

“You  _ can _ , Lisa,” Vlad stressed. “You just can never come back here.”

“What?” Lisa furrowed her brows. “Where  _ do _ you live?”

“Someplace far from here,” he replied vaguely. 

“Don’t lie to me,” she chided, “you live in Târgoviște.”

Vlad shook his head. “I do not.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Where, then? The countryside?”

“Precisely.”

Lisa settled, some of her stiffness fading. “Vlad, must you always be vague for the simplest of answers?” 

“My apologies. It’s an old habit,” Vlad sighed. It was difficult for him to court her in this way. He took for granted when she waltzed into his home eager and ready to learn all those decades ago. His eyes fell to the ground. She had always wanted him to live as a man. This version of her didn’t know it, but her past self would be pleased with him for what he was doing now. Even if he wasn’t the best at it. 

“I’m sorry. I wish things were different. I never wanted this for myself. I had so many hopes and goals, ardent passion for science. What good will it do for me? I am bound to be a wife and a wife only.”

“No, you have a  _ choice _ , Lisa,” Vlad said, his voice eager to get her to understand, “you  _ can _ be a scientist. You just have to leave with me. Tonight. Don’t go back for anything. We stand, we leave, we don’t glance back.”

“H-How? They will find us!”

“They will not. I promise you. You have to trust me.”

“I won’t let them hurt you. I care too much for you.”

Vlad was near to losing his patience. He bit his tongue and exhaled. It was difficult getting her to see his point. She was stubborn, he knew this very well, but her stubbornness had never been  _ this _ frustrating. He sighed and clenched his hands into fists. 

“Lisa,” he began, “has it ever occurred to you that I’m something out of the ordinary?”

She stared at him, her gaze pensive. “W-Well...perhaps…”

“You know I am. You noticed it the first time we met. You commented on my eyes, yes?.”

“They  _ are _ peculiar. And your teeth, nails, and stature….” she mumbled. She shook her head. “I don’t know. I never wanted to ask! I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable about your abnormalities. None of us are perfect, after all. I accept you as you are.”

“You don’t know what you’re accepting.”

“What does that mean?”

“When I say no human can hurt me, I really mean it, Lisa.”

Lisa furrowed her brow, her eyes scattering from place to place in the distance. She shook her head, her front tooth gnawing on her lower lip. “I don’t understand what that  _ means _ , Vlad. Can’t you just speak plainly for once?!”

He sighed. “My name is Vlad Dracula Ţepeş,” he said plainly. 

“Yes? What of it? I know that already.”

“Vlad Dracula, Son of the Dragon. Ţepeş was a name given to me long ago by the people. I despised it at first, but I let it be over time.”

“Alright…” 

Vlad raised his brow. “Do you know what  _ Ţepeş _ means, Lisa?”

Lisa glanced at him, her face pale. “It’s just your surname…” she mumbled. 

“Well, no. Dracula was my given surname.”

“I know what it means!” she exclaimed, throwing up her arms. “But what does that have to do with  _ you?” _

“Don’t you know the story of a man infamous for his cruelty? The story of a man who put men on sticks for trying to invade Wallachia?”

“Yes, his name was Vlad Dracu--” Lisa paused, her eyes wide. “What are you, his descendant?!”

“Not quite,” Vlad shook his head. He raised his head to gaze down at her. “If you know the story, it ends with no one ever having found his body.”

“His head was chopped off and brought to the enemy.”

“So they thought,” Vlad shrugged with a mischievous glint in his eye. 

Lisa stood and faced him, a look of shock and horror on her face. “That’s not possible! He--He would be dead by now, even if…who  _ are  _ you?!”

“Vlad Dracula Ţepeş. I’ve been alive for centuries. It was last century I defended my patch of Wallachia from invaders. Me and the humans had a common goal at the time. The enemy spread stories of my cruelty, mixed it with legend and storytelling, and it spread all over Europe. I hardly care.”

“What do you mean you’ve been alive for centuries?”

“You see my attributes. The Vampire is not legend, Lisa.”

“What?” Lisa said, her face flushed. “What are you going to do to me?”

“Nothing. I would never hurt you,” Vlad responded. He went to grab her hand, but she pulled it away. 

“But, you said you were Vlad Ţepeş. You impaled people!”

“It was a war. It’s over now, and I gave that up long ago.”

Lisa brought her arms around her chest. She stared at him. “Why wouldn’t you hurt me? Or try to take a drink from me?”

Vlad sighed. He couldn’t help but think he made a mistake in telling her the truth in the way he did. However, he didn’t know how else to relay it to her. Time was of the essence, either she followed him home tonight or she was sold away to a vile human man to play housewife against her will. Vlad would never understand the nature of humans; why they bought and sold each other like cattle. 

“I have cold blood stored in canisters,” he said plainly. 

“From _ who?” _

“The men I put on sticks. The bloodletting from that war is enough to last for centuries.”

Lisa swallowed. “Why are you courting me?”

“Because…” he stalled, his face paler than usual. He squeezed his hand into a fist and peered up at her. 

“Because?” 

“I...I love you, Lisa,” he said, the words warm on his frozen tongue. “I have for a long while now. You are unlike the others of your kind and I...admire your mind. I want you to use it for science, like you wish.”

Lisa blushed. “How would you give that to me?”

“Do you remember that story you told me the day we met? Of the hermited man that lives in a castle? Well, it’s true. There_ is_ a hermited man that lives in a castle. That man is me.”

She stared at him, her cheeks rosy. She went to grab his hand when a young boy ran up to her. 

“Lisa!” he said. “Mama and Papa are looking for you!”

“Thank you, Sebastian,” she sighed. 

“Who is this?” he said, gesturing to Vlad. Vlad stiffened and said nothing, his gaze bearing into the boy’s. Sebastion stiffened. 

“This is Vlad,” Lisa mumbled. 

“Lisa, are you seeing someone behind Papa’s back?” 

“Not a word of it!” Lisa snapped. “I know you’re my brother, but you need to keep your mouth shut.”

“Lisa, enough of this nonsense. A human can’t care for you like I can. Let’s go,” Vlad interjected, standing and grabbing her forearm. 

“What? What are you doing, kidnapping her?” Sebastian exclaimed. His hand covered his mouth. 

“No, you fool--”

“Vlad, enough,” Lisa said. She took his hand in hers and kissed it. “I appreciate your courtship more than you know. And maybe I feel what for you what you do for me.”

“Well, then? Come on,” he urged, his tone inpatient. 

“My family is a starving one. See my brother? He’s malnourished enough. The money from the nobility will feed him. They’ll feed my sister not yet four, too. Her body is already damaged from starving as a toddler. This marriage is not something I want, and trust me, I loathe my parents, but my siblings are innocent. And so, I will do it for them.”

“I can give them all the food in the world.”

“You can’t. They would try to kill you, Vlad. And, yes, I know it would be a sorry attempt by them.”

Vlad bit his lip, his brow furrowed. It felt as though he was getting rejected, something a creature as powerful as him couldn’t fathom was happening to him. He took for granted most of the time he got what he wanted. This was different. It was a hard lesson to learn, a difficult notion to swallow down. Centuries lived, and humans could still hurt his heart. Well, only one human, a beautiful soul that didn’t realize who she was or what she was capable of. 

“Lisa…” he mumbled. 

“Vlad, I will always love you. For eternity. Just as you are.”

“Would you…”

She didn’t allow him to finish. “No, Vlad. I can’t. Not because I don’t want to. Humans must be a peculiar thing to you, and I don’t expect you to understand.”

“I never will understand the minds of those that don’t deserve the Earth.”

“Stay patient. One day, maybe someone will show you the light in a human’s heart.”

“Someone already has.”

Lisa frowned. She let go of his hand and gave him a gentle wave. She took a few steps away. “Goodbye, Vlad…”

Vlad watched as she disappeared out of sight. He was left alone standing in front of the bench. Their bench. The bench they used to chat every day he went to see her, watching dusk turn to night as the lanterns of the city were lit. Talking about anything and everything, the known and the unknown, nothing was too taboo a subject. 

For the first time in his immortal life, his unbeating heart was broken to see a woman walk away from him. It was Lisa, his wife. Yet, at the same time, it  _ wasn’t _ his wife. She hadn’t been for decades. Back then, he hadn’t seen her walk away, rather, he walked away from her and their cottage. The guilt from that incident still ate him day in and day out, despite seeing her live life over and over again. Perhaps it served him right to see her walk away from him. He had done the same to her, and it cost her her life once long ago. 

“I’ll see you again, Lisa,” he mumbled to the wind, “in another life.”


	6. Jealous Sea

_ Wallachia, c. 1520 _

Vlad couldn’t stand watching her from afar. He had never been denied anything he wished for in his immortal life, and the ache burned a hole through his unbeating heart. However, despite that, he didn’t get violent. He threw a few things in his study, but that was the extent of it. He loved her enough to let her be, to allow her to make her own decisions in her life without his pushing and prodding. 

Now he had to stand by as she lived her life without him. 

A few years passed. Vlad couldn’t keep himself away. The mix of restraint and lack of self control he held for this woman was incredible. He was usually either one or the other, yet she had placed a flurry of contradictions in him. She had done this the first time they met many lifetimes ago, and she would likely continue to for the eternities to come. 

He watched her marry. He watched her start her life as a wife and a wife only. It angered him, but he was able to keep it at bay. The day he looked into the mirror to see her holding a newborn, he didn’t know what to do with himself. 

At first glance, the memories flooded him. He remembered the day of his son’s birth as if it were just a moment ago, holding his tiny, premature form in his powerful hands. Adrian wasn’t a healthy baby, as he often had many ailments and struggles as a newborn. Vlad watched him around the clock, tending to him with his superhuman pace when Lisa was resting or unable to look after him. Despite the struggling, he grew up to be a healthy young man. That didn’t rid Vlad of the memories, of remembering them struggle to keep him alive. 

When he saw Lisa holding a perfectly healthy newborn in her arms with tears in her eyes, Vlad had to look away. She was enjoying a son that wasn’t _ theirs. _ Not only that, her and this other man’s child was perfectly healthy and thriving. Why couldn’t _ they _ have had that? They couldn’t properly enjoy Adrian’s newborn days, for they were spent trying to keep him alive. Yet, this vile man got the privilege to enjoy it with her. 

Vlad knocked on Adrian’s door. They had spent the last few decades together, which felt both like a few years and an eternity. While they didn’t have conversations every day, they were always aware of each other. The tension they once had faded, and they had pleasant relations, though a lot of times they minded their own business. Upon seeing Lisa’s life, he wanted more than pleasantries with his own flesh and blood. 

The door opened. Adrian’s eyes widened at seeing his father. A bit of nervousness sprouted along his features. “Father! How may I help you?” he asked. 

“Son, let’s spend time together,” Vlad said, his voice monotone. 

“What?” Adrian furrowed his brows, his face shifting to surprise. “What do you mean?”

“I think it’s about time we...spend time as father and son.”

“I-I see…”

“We haven’t done so in decades. What do you say?”

Adrian nodded. “That’s fine. What do you have in mind?”

“I thought you would answer that for us,” Vlad shrugged. 

“W-Well…” he mumbled, his face concentrated. “I’m not sure.”

“How about we have a conversation over a few chalices of blood?”

Adrian flushed. He pushed back some of his long strands of hair. “F-Father...I don’t like the taste.”

“Fine. How about wine instead?”

“That’ll do.”

**~*~**

Father and son sat in separate, plush and fanciful chairs in front of the fireplace. Vlad had a chalice of blood wrapped around his hand while Adrian cradled a cup of wine in his. It was quiet, no true or meaning conversation had yet taken flight between them. Vlad sight and swashed blood around his mouth before swallowing. 

“Tell me about your travels. I don’t recall ever asking,” he finally said. 

Adrian nodded. He sipped from his glass. “If I’m being honest, I did a short bit of traveling, but once I found the islands of the Aegean Sea, I found myself settled on one for a good number of years.”

“I quite like those waters. It’s a different world, being near the sea. Wallachia doesn’t have the privilege of knowing such a thing.”

“No. Perhaps that’s why I was so fascinated with it. I studied the sea for a long while.”

“Did you do anything else? Interact with humans, perhaps?”

Adrian flushed and shook his head. “Not unless I had to. I’m not one for communicating with others, Father.”

Vlad sighed. He sipped from his chalice again. “You take after me. Your mother was afraid of that. She always hoped you would be as open to others as she was. I never saw an issue with you keeping to yourself. I suppose it’s because that’s what I do as well.”

“About Mother….”

“Yes?” Vlad asked, lifting his brow. 

“How is she? Her new soul, that is.”

“She married a noble to protect her siblings,” Vlad said with a bitter edge to his tone. “I tried to convince her that wasn’t necessary, but she’s as stubborn now as she was in the first life I met her. She succumbed to a life of being a human man’s wife, never being allowed to pursue her passions.”

Adrian frowned. He looked over to his father. “Do think she’s happy with that?”

“Who am I to say?” 

“You know her better than anyone.”

“I did once upon a time ago…” Vlad exhaled, his fist on his cheek. “Who I am to say what one will do from one life to the next? She’s nearly the same woman in every way, Adrian. Yet, her situations in life are different than when we first met. Perhaps our environment shapes our decision making more than we ever realize.”

“Perhaps we’ve fallen away from that mode of thinking, Father,” Adrian said, staring into the fire with a pensive gaze. Vlad glanced over to him .

“What do you mean?”

“Our environment is static, it has been for many decades now. We don’t interact with life the way a human would. Of course our surroundings don't suade us to do anything drastic, it’s not in the ebb and flow of human society.” 

“I suppose you’re right. There’s no need for us to think in such a way.”

“Yes, but if we think about it from Mother’s perspective, the world seems quite different, doesn’t it?” 

Vlad shrugged and finished his chalice. “I don’t meddle with trying to comprehend what it means to be human.”

“I understand. What is she doing now?”

“She has a son.”

Adrian’s eyes widened. He glanced to the painting on the wall of Lisa holding a bunch of white lilies. A flurry of emotions passed through his vision. “What?”

“She had a son with the noble,” Vlad repeated. He swirled the last drop of blood in his chalice with disdain. “A healthy, thriving child with a human that pays her no mind.”

“I don’t know what to say…”

“Are you jealous, Adrian?” Vlad asked, raising his brow at him once again. 

“Perhaps,” he said with a frown. “Are you?”

“Perhaps.” Vlad paused. “You were never a healthy baby.”

“I know.”

“Always ill, always wailing and struggling for breath,” he continued to muse aloud, “underweight and unable to sleep…”

“You are awfully calm about this, Father.”

Vlad snapped out his thoughts. He looked to Adrian as he scratched on the carvings of the chalice. “She will live this life and be born into the next one. It’ll happen all in due time.”

Adrian sighed. He sipped from his glass again. “Are sure following her is the right thing to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“She was married to you in a past life. Is there any reason to seek her out beyond that? Is it possible she learned the lessons her soul needed from you already?”

Vlad raised his brow, his tone defensive. “She didn’t get to finish what she set out to do in that life, to complete her studies in the sciences. Isn’t that the _ point? _ To show her what she lost when she was scorned. She’s not getting it from these fools.”

Adrian stiffened. “You’re right. But, it sometimes seems you’re stalking her.”

“I am not a human. I do not need to adhere to the construct of what they deem moral or immoral. It’s neither here nor there.”

“It’s not just humans that stalk. Wolves, lions, vampires…”

“I’m not looking to make her a meal, Adrian. You know better,” Vlad chided, through it was devoid of any anger or irritation. “You sought out this information. You tried it before I did. If I’m the stalker, then what does that make you?”

Adrian sighed and nodded. “I just wanted to see her again. Perhaps I was a selfish child obsessed with what I lost…”

“It’s fine. We will give her the life she deserves, son.”

“Do you really think we could do that? Give her back what she lost, even though she doesn’t know she lost it?”

“Yes. In due time, Adrian._ In due time.” _


	7. The Front Door

_ Wallachia c. 1590 _

The decades passed. Lisa grew older and wiser in her insights, yet stuck in place as the seasons passed. She had three children, two sons and a daughter, which she raised with passion and vigor. It was painful for Vlad to observe, but he knew her well, which meant he wasn’t surprised at her care and attention to detail as a mother. She had been ardent about looking after Adrian since the day they found out they were expecting him. She hadn’t met him yet, but it had never mattered to her. It was their son, her child. It had amazed Vlad at the time, seeing someone care so much for something which they could not see. The months passed, and as the day of the child’s birth drew closer, he came to feel the same way. It had felt strange at the time, a peculiarity that didn’t seem to fit his vampiric nature of sharp acuity and lack of remorse. It had felt... _ human.  _ That was long ago. It was over a century hence. Adrian was old in the human sense, but yet so young in Vlad’s eyes. A hundred years for a vampire was nothing. He still saw Adrian as somewhat naive, but he had matured much. Vlad had never said it out loud, but he was proud of him. 

Lisa passed away at an elderly age in the 1560s. It was a quiet life, domestic and traditional with no spark of creativity. Over the years, she had read a few science books here and there, but her passion, her knack for new ideas and proposals, was absent. Vlad watched the noble’s lack of care for her insights and aspirations. She was a housewife and a child-bearer. That was all. 

That was many years ago. She lived a new life now. She had grown up in Lupu, which was a surprise to Vlad, given she had spent the last few lifetimes in Târgoviște. Her life was quiet and dull, but her imagination and willpower was not. Her father was a Wallachian farmer, and he often rode to Târgoviște and other larger hubs to sell his crop. Lisa was his only child, and she was joined at the hip to him. They did everything together. Her father adored her and kept her close, for she was all he had left after Lisa’s mother died in childbirth. He supported her interest in science and bought her as many books as he could afford. Vlad was satisfied at seeing her upbringing. It was a struggle only having one parent, but that one parent was attentive and kind to her. Perhaps not all humans were vile after all. 

Lisa was a young woman in her twenties now. She explored topic after topic, committing it all to memory. Vlad had yet to approach her during this lifetime. Something within his intuition told him he didn’t need to. He wasn’t sure what that entailed yet, or how it their paths would come to pass, but he trusted his gut. After centuries, Vlad had learned to follow his instincts. It was an acquired skill, but one that he no longer doubted. So he watched and waited. 

The days came and went. Lisa’s father died. She was distraught, alone, and heartbroken. Vlad clenched his teeth watching her agony, for her father was the only person on the planet that she had a close relationship with. They had lived for each other, supported each other through every trial and tribulation. For some reason, Lisa hadn't gained companions in other humans. She was kind and friendly as she always had been, but had ever created the lasting spark of a relationship, platonic or otherwise. So, when he father left the Earth and her behind, she didn’t know what to do with herself. So she walked to nowhere in particular, following rumors and stories of whimsy, legends and folklore, not knowing what was fantasy and what was true. It was a lonely journey. 

A journey that lead her right to his front door. 

Vlad was at a loss for words. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing in the mirror before him. His hands wrapped around the frame, his upper torso leaned forward to get a better glance at the images coming through. When he saw her approaching the large, iron double-doors of his abode, his eyes widened more than they had in at least a century. 

As he studied her approach with a keen eye, Adrian opened the door to his study. 

“Father, I have a text in an occult language I’m having trouble translating. May I ask for your assistance with deciphering it?”

Any other day Vlad might’ve gotten miffed Adrian walked in on him watching Lisa’s life through the mirror. He had told him over a century prior to _stay out of it,_ and Adrian had listened. Yet, any time he had accidentally come close to seeing what Vlad was looking at it he had shooed him away with a glare. Today was not that day. 

There was a sense of urgency in Vlad’s chest. It was foreign, an oddity that he didn’t fully comprehended. It fluttered and jumped from rib to rib in a flurry. He swallowed rough and stiffened his shoulders. It almost felt as though he were..._anxious._

The aged Vlad was not one to quarrel with himself without logic. Yet, this feeling persisted. He turned to his son and gestured to the mirror. 

“She’s here,” he said. 

Adrian’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Lisa is about to knock on my front door. What am I supposed to do?”

“I-I don’t know, Father!” Adrian exclaimed, studying the image in the mirror. “What did you do the last time she knocked on your front door?”

“I attempted to intimidate her by spouting off various half-threats which she promptly scoffed at.”

“So that was how I came to be…” Adrian mumbled to himself. Vlad paid it no mind, turning the mirror once again. 

“I don’t think I can repeat such a thing again.”

Adrian shook his head. “Why not? She repeating her past motions again. Mother told me she found your castle while traveling after her father died. She was lonely and distraught, curious and passionate, with nothing to lose. Perhaps this is her second chance at the life she lived over a century ago.”

Vlad sighed and lifted his brow. “Are you saying I should say those lines again, in all seriousness, knowing damn well it’s a farce?”

“It’s only an idea. What do you plan to do?” Adrian said with a shrug. 

“I don’t know,” Vlad said blankly, “that’s why I asked you.”

“I never thought there would come a day you would ask for my assistance in anything.”

“The times change, son.”

Adrian sighed. He studied the image in the mirror as Lisa drew closer. “It’s worked last time, Father. What’s to say it won’t work again? She is the same soul, living a moment of deja vu. Perhaps that’s what she needs to jostle a part of her she doesn’t know exists.”

“Perhaps. I have no other options I see as better.”

**~*~**

It had been over a century since someone had walked up those stairs, knocked on those doors. It had been over half a century since Vlad had spoken to Lisa’s soul, and in this lifetime, they had never met. It was an odd notion, putting up the play of events that had transpired long ago. Vlad still remembered every word he said to her the first time they had ever met, in every lifetime, and the dialogue was clear in his mind. Part of him felt a fool, the other an expectant prophet for anticipating what was likely come next if he played his part in Lisa’s theatre. He left Adrian in his study alone, not thinking to wash away the image on the mirror. Vlad stood at the top of the grand staircase of his entryway as the doors opened. Lisa spoke as she entered, and Vlad didn’t have to fully comprehend it to know exactly what she had said. With a sharp inhale, he spoke to her for the first time in decades:

_ “You bang on my front door because you want to pour chicken’s blood on peasants.” _


End file.
